>Not sure but but I think he probably inspected it on the rope first. I>can remember a few years back it being news when somebody (Andy Earl???)>managed to do a ground up ascent ... makes me think it hadn't been done>like that before.

Article I linked above was reporting on Andy Earl's ground up ascent suggested most had used a rope. Said article is a little misleading as it is reported as an Onsight, yet Andy himself mentions on the second go he was on top... So focus appears more on the speed of the ascent and ground up rather than just ground up.

On 12/03/2013 Dave J wrote:>I dont quite (understand) ODH's pad aversion. As far as I see it they've turned a lot>of what would have been shitty 8 meter routes into excellent boulder problems.

You've misunderstood what I was saying Dave.

I was ribbing the fact that they are using inferior technology owing to ??? cultural/scientific ideas about the best way to pad a long fall. Doesn't look like the approach is a death march through scratchy bush, so why not carry in a couple of foamies for the bottom of the stack? Without much extra effort, they could have built a DIY pole vault mat to land on.

On 12/03/2013 Dave J wrote:>It only gets lame>for me if having done the ascent they pretending the bouncey rubber castle>wasnt there. Stephan Glowacz solo of kachoong with the big safety net just>out of shot is an example that springs to mind.

Stefan didn't have the safety net the first time he soloed Kachoong (which is when most of the photos you see of him were taken). It was only for the film shoot and I suspect it was a requirement of the film makers. And it was rigged exactly as ODH has described.

On 12/03/2013 Chalkischeap wrote:>Surely Mr Glowacz could solo Kachoong confidently ??? How did he rig it?

It was stretched across from where you pull round the arete at the start to the buttress down below highdive. I was there that day and was sorely tempted to give it a lash though 21 would have been fairly close to my limit at the time. I actually don't have a problem with someone using a big net to protect the route just the camera angle they chose to film it. In my book going for an onsight ascent with the net instead of the rope would have to be better and more exciting than just leading up in. You certainly couldnt call it a solo of the route but, as a fun thing to do, I reckon it would be more engaging than just leading up it in the traditional fashion. In Glowacz's defense I think he had already soloed it and was just doing a lap for the cameras or something.

Back to Careless Torque...I got curious and looked it up a bit. http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=6882
Some discussion ensues about the possibility of Rich Simpson having already done it ground up (like a bunch of other impressive things he might have done) but nobody is even suggesting that Ron did it without a rope. I think there might have even been some speculation for a while about whether or not Ron even actually did it....when other good climbers at he time Moffat etc couldn't touch it, but I think given his track record and general awesomeness and once a few people started to get up it he was given the benefit of the doubt. Why Big Ron didn't just whip his iPhone out and stream the whole thing live to his FB page Ill never understand...When I was there it wasn't something people tried, I remember asking about the obvious great line and people I was with didn't seem to think it was possible in spite of Ron having claimed an ascent years (a decade) earlier.

------edit----
Ah, I was a bit slow on the reply and half a dozen other people have stepped in with the detail. ODHs memory of the setup is better than mine...I think I was too busy fantasising about being up there hang from the lip and shitting myself to even notice the party balloons

On 12/03/2013 One Day Hero wrote:>On 12/03/2013 Chalkischeap wrote:>>Surely Mr Glowacz could solo Kachoong confidently ??? How did he rig>it?>>The inside edge was anchored to the cliff, one outside corner was rigged>up to the power line, the other was a bunch of party balloons..........quite>avant garde rigging for the time.
That would have been the perfect moment for the Nati cop to have turned up in the helicopter ("no obstacles round here...").

On 12/03/2013 One Day Hero wrote:>I was ribbing the fact that they are using inferior technology owing to>??? cultural/scientific ideas about the best way to pad a long fall. Doesn't>look like the approach is a death march through scratchy bush, so why not>carry in a couple of foamies for the bottom of the stack? Without much>extra effort, they could have built a DIY pole vault mat to land on.

I its more laziness driven than any sort of ethics thing. Its a balancing act between what is the minimum number of pads they'd be prepared to lob onto from the highest point they're realistically likely to fall off vs the maximum number of pads they could lug in there without giving themselves a cardiac arrest (Like bolting was in the 80s where the amount of work required to add a bolt maybe people to that whole balancing act thing where they were weighing up the likelihood of breaking ankles vs an hour or two of hard work). I suspect if the crux of the problem had been at the top of the boulder...or the boulder had been right next to the road...there would have been more pads at the bottom. To me going ground up with a bunch of pads is a step forwards from roped rehearsal and a solo. Ground up with no pads would be another step forward again but that hasnt happened yet and its unlikely to in the near future. All that aside, Its a great effort. Id be happy to have done it even with twice as many pads.

And what about that problem where Alex Honnold dragged in something 36 pads??? Perhaps he should have borrowed Glowazc's net?

From gfdonc on winter in arapiles thread:>Yeah and while you're there just go ahead and solo the thing, including hacking >through the unstable ice mushroom. Oh wait, that's already been done ..>http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/austrian-free-solos-cerro-torre
For me that puts all this pebble wrestling with/without pads/nets/balls in perspective. An amazing effort for this impressively talented lass no doubt, but this Austrian's efforts make me cringe just that little bit more.